Lighting fixtures



June 1956 E. c. YOUNG LIGHTING FIXTURES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 8, 1953 ATTORNEY J1me 1956 E. c. YOUNG 2,750,492

LIGHTING FIXTURES Filed Sept. 8, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

gmerefi 6'. 1/01/72 BY 7 a? W ATTO R N EY United States Patent LIGHTING FIXTURES Everett C. Young, Cleveland, Ohio Application September 8, 1953, Serial No. 378,840

Claims. (Cl. 240-71) This invention relates to improvements in lighting fixtures and more particularly to the means for adjusting the height of the fixture.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide an improved means for adjustably supporting a lighting fixture which is adjustable vertically with respect to the ceiling, which may be easily and readily adjusted to any desired height and which remains supported in any adjusted position until manually readjusted.

Another object of this invention is to provide a structure of the foregoing character in which the adjusting reel is positioned adjacent to the ceiling and the fixture is supported on a flexible metal or wire cable, with the coiled electrical conducting wire positioned around the cable and with no strain imposed on the electrical conducting wire.

Another object is to provide a cable and a permanently coiled electrical conducting wire surrounding the cable which is extensible and contractible as said cable is wound or unwound on said reel.

in the drawings:

Fig. l is a side view with portions broken and partly in cross section showing this invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken on lines 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the parts of the reel mechanism as well as the other components.

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken on lines 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a view of the reel mechanism with one of the housing sections removed, and

Fig. 6 is a view showing a lighting fixture supported in accordance with this invention and showing the manner of adjusting the height of the lighting fixture.

The operating unit generally indicated at 10 is secured to the standard electric outlet box 12 in the ceiling by means of a saddle strap 14. The operating unit contains a reel member or drum generally indicated at 16 which supports a cable 18 which is connected to a fixture generally indicated at 20. A coiled electrical conducting cord 22 surrounds the cable 18 and electrically connects the lighting fixture to the outlet box. The lighting fixture unit may be adjusted to any desired height or elevation by grasping the fixture and pulling it down or raising it and when the fixture is released it Will remain in its adjusted position until again manually adjusted.

The reel mechanism is supported and contained within a housing generally indicated at 24, which may be formed of two sections 26 and 28, best illustrated in Fig. 3. The section 26 which forms the supporting structure has an open side 27 and an open rear 29. The side wall 30 of section 26 is formed to provide an annular collar 31 and an opening 32.

A rotatable worm 34 is secured to the top 36 of section 26 by means of a securement plate and rivets 37. The plate is rounded as at 38 to form a bearing surface for the shaft 39 of the worm, which shaft has a pair of spaced collars 40 engaging the opposite end of the 2,750,492 Patented June 12, 1956 ICC plate to prevent sliding of the worm. The worm is positioned so that it inclines at an angle as best shown in Fig. 3 and the shaft has a key slot 41 to receive a screw driver or the like for rotating same.

The bottom wall 42 of section 26 is slotted as at 43. A metal strip 44 having a slot 45 and a pair of aligned bearing surfaces 46 is secured to the section 26 by means of suitable screws 47. The bearing surfaces support a pin 48 on which is rotatably mounted a small guide wheel 49 which is positioned in said slotted openings. The metal strip 44 is bent inwardly so that the inwardly extending portion 50 is on a horizontal plane when the unit is supported.

The section 28 has a pair of spaced side walls 51 and 52 and a connecting end wall 53. The section 28 is secured to section 26 so that the side wall 51 forms the cover for the housing with the end wall 53 closing the rear opening 29 and the side wall 52 positioned on the outside adjacent the side wall 30 of section 26. The side walls 51 and 52 have a pair of aligned openings 54 and 55 which align with opening 32 in section 26. The end wall 53 has an opening 56 adjacent the top thereof to permit access to the key slot 41 of the worm. Side wall 51 has an annular depressed portion 54a around the opening 54 which has frictional contact with the side wall 75 of the shell 72 subsequently to be described.

The saddle strap generally indicated at 14 is shaped to provide a horizontal portion 57, a downwardly extending portion 53 extending substantially at right angles thereto and an inclined portion 59. The portion 59 has a pair of slots 6%} and the housing 24 is secured to the saddle strap by means of screws 61 through said slots, as best shown in Fig. 3.

The slots permit the easy attachment of the reel mechanism or housing 24 to the saddle strap 14 on the outlet box in the ceiling, thus eliminating the burden of holding the reel with attached fixture, as the whole unit remains secured and free while the electrical leads from one end of the coiled cord 22 are being connected to the electrical leads from said outlet box. The top slot also aligns with opening 56 to permit access to the key slot 41 of the worm 34. The horizontal portion 57 of the strap 14 is provided with a pair of elongated slots 62 whereby same may be secured to the outlet box by conventional bolts. A central opening 63 is provided for securing the said strap 14 to a threaded stud in or on the outlet box. Said opening 63 can be used for passage of the electrical conducting wire if necessary.

The reel mechanism which is contained within the housing will now be described.

The worm gear 64 is formed of an annular plate 65 and a circumferentially inclined portion 66 having teeth 67. The plate has a central opening 68 which fits on the collar 31 of section 26. The plate has a split collar 69 adjacent the opening 68. A friction plate 70 having a central opening 78a is mounted on the collar 69 adjacent the plate 65 of the worm gear. The teeth 67 of the worm gear are adapted to be in constant engagement with the worm 34.

The reel or drum includes an annular shell 72 having an open side 72a which is positioned against friction plate 70. A flanged rim or ring 73 is fixedly secured to the shell 72. The side wall 75 of the shell has a central opening 76 and an inwardly formed circumferential lip 77 which lip fits within the exposed end of the split collar 69.

A spiral spring 78 is secured within the shell 72 with the outer end of the spring anchored to the shell as at 80 and the inner end of the spring bent to form a lip 82 to engage the slitted portion of the split collar 69. The shell 72 and ring 73 have aligned openings 83 through which the cable 18 passes and to which it is anchored.

The cable is adapted to be wound on the drum. The opposite end of the cable passes over the guide wheel 49 and downwardly as will be described. A bolt 84 passes through the openings 54 and 55 in section 28 and opening 32 in section 26 as well as opening 76 in the shell of the reel and through the central coil of the spring. A nut 85 secured to the bolt securely locks the parts together.

A tubular shell 86 having a shoulder 37 is secured to the portion 50 of the strip 44 by means of a post generally indicated at 88. The post supports a bullet shaped head 89 which is threadedly secured thereto. The post is positioned centrally inside the tubular shell 86 with the head 89 extending above the strip 44. A nut 90 secured to the threaded post secures the post and shell to the strip. The bottom of the post is likewise provided with a bullet shaped end 91 which is threadedly secured to the post 88 and which extends slightly below the bottom of the shell. The post is hollow with the top and bottom bullet shaped ends provided with aligned openings through which the cable 18 passes.

The terminal of the cable is secured to another hollow post 92 which threadedly supports a bullet shaped cap 93. The cap has an opening through which the cable is passed and the end of the cable is knotted to prevent its disengagement with the cap and post. The lower end of the post is threaded as at 94 to support a nut 95. The post 92 is secured to a lighting fixture generally indicated at 96 by inserting the threaded end of the post 92 into the fixture opening with the nut 95 positioned above the fixture and placing a washer 97 against the undersurface of the fixture and then securing a threaded cap 98 on the post to lock the fixture to said post.

The electrical conduit comprises a coiled insulated cord 22 which is secured to a suitable opening in the shell 86 by means of a clip 101. The cord 22 is permanently coiled into a spring like shape to provide for extension and retraction. The cord surrounds the post 88 as Well as the cable 18, and surrounds the lower post 92 with the lower end of the cord passing through the opening in the fixture and suitably connected to the electric socket or sockets in the fixture. The upper or terminal portion 102 of the cord passes exteriorly of the shell 36 and is electrically connected to the outlet box 12.

A canopy construction 104 encloses the housing 24 as well as the terminal portion of the electrical cord, with the neck 105 of the canopy frictionally engaging the tubular shell 86 to the shoulder 37. The shell thus supports the canopy adjacent the ceiling and permits said canopy to hide the housing and operating parts.

The operation of the device will now be described. The lighting fixture is supported entirely on the flexible cable 18 and no weight is therefore placed on the coiled cord 22. By grasping the lighting fixture and pulling down on same, the cable 18 will cause the reel 16 to rotate clockwise as viewed in Fig. 1 thereby unwinding the cable which is coiled on the ring 73 and thus lowering the lighting fixture. As the reel rotates clockwise, the spring 78 which has one end anchored thereto will likewise rotate with the reel. The opposite or inner end of the spring is secured to the split sleeve 69 on the worm gear 67 which remains stationary, hence the spring will be tensioned with the clockwise rotation of the reel.

The fixture even with the spring tensioned will be caused to remain suspended at any point when released and will not move upwardly or downwardly.

By manually raising the lighting fixture the tensioned spring will urge the reel to rotate counterclockwise (as viewed in Fig. 1) and cause the cable to wind on the reel and shorten its length thus raising the fixture to any desired elevation below the support. Merely releasing the fixture will cause the reel to stop its rotation. The cord 22 is extensible and contractible and extends as the fixture is lowered and contracts as it is raised. It substantially hides the supporting cable.

If necessary to adjust the tension of the spring 78 to compensate for the dififerent weights of lighting fixtures to be supported, this may be accomplished by rotating the worm 34 which in turn rotates worm gear and its split collar 69 to tension the spring 78 since lip 82 of the inner end of the spring is secured to the collar 69. Rotating the worm clockwise as viewed from the left hand end of Fig. 1 will rotate worm gear 65 counter clockwise and tighten the tension on the spring. Rotation in the opposite direction will loosen the spring.

I claim:

1. A vertically suspended lighting assembly comprising a housing, a wind-up mechanism in the housing, a flexible cable supported on the wind-up mechanism and having one end portion secured to the mechanism and the other end disposed outside said housing, a lighting fixture secured to said other end of the flexible cable and disposed below the housing, an electrical conducting wire having a permanently coiled intermediate portion of helical shape which is contractible and extensible as the lighting fixture is moved up and down relative to the housing, and a hollow post supported by and projecting downwardly from the housing, said post receiving and containing an intermediate portion of the flexible cable adjacent to the housing and being disposed within the coiled portion of the wire whereby parts of the cable and the wire coil adjacent to the housing are maintained in spaced relation to each other as the fixture is moved relative to the housing.

2. The lighting assembly of claim 1 wherein a guide wheel is secured to the housing and the cable is disposed in engagement with the guide wheel and thereby guided in its travel relative to the housing as the fixture is moved up and down.

3. The lighting assembly of claim 1 wherein a saddle strap is secured to said housing and adapted to be secured to an electrical outlet box.

4. The lighting assembly of claim 1 wherein the windup mechanism comprises a rotatable spring tension reel supported within said housing.

5. The lighting assembly of claim 4 wherein a member engages said spring for controlling the tension of same.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,200,877 

